


Side Quest

by weerus



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-28
Updated: 2019-03-28
Packaged: 2019-12-25 13:23:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,481
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18262169
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/weerus/pseuds/weerus
Summary: Seungcheol is a stable worker and has a crush on the cute boy who lives next to the stables.What could ever go wrong?





	Side Quest

**Author's Note:**

> ahah its been a year since my last fic hasnt it
> 
> this fic was a WIP for at least a year so im happy that its finally out
> 
> anyways happy jicheol day everyone!

__

 

_Lingrah vod ko fin goraan bok do fin lein, fin norok sunvar Ewersu drey rel pah do Aur. Fin zofaas zoor al sahsun, ag hofkahsejun, ahrk kiraan unslaad muz. Nid Suleyk ko Arian ronit fin sunvaar. Fin kro grah nii ko fin hevno od, ahrk aan brit grah nii lost! Erei fin jun ahrkkro aav wah horvut Ewersu, ahrk horvutah fin sunvaar ko aan spaan kun. Fin sunvaar los ni dilon, nunon praan. Nu, ko vulom, aan daan qah ko fin golt. Gein sul fod aan kul saan ok suleyk, fin sunvaar fen alok nol fin strunmah._

 

_Long ago in the young ages of the world, the fierce beast Ewersu did dominate all of Aur. The fearful legend destroyed villages, burned palaces, and killed unending people. No power in Arian rivalled the beast. The mages fought it in the brutal snow, and a beautiful battle it was! Until the kings and mages joined to trap Ewersu, and captured the beast in a protected light. The beast is not dead, only resting. Now, in darkness, a doom hid in the land. One day when a son loses his power, the beast will rise from the mountain._

 

* * *

 

The soft spring breeze flows through the bustling town. Children run around and laugh with each other, while their parents look over them and chatter away. The main town is busy with flourishing trade and business, while salesmen yell at each other for whose fruit is better. Travellers from different countries marvel at the stock in town. Meanwhile, in contrast to the crowded atmosphere of the town, a quieter area known as ‘the stables’ live a quiet life. It's a rural area where there’s not a lot of long term settlements - due to being away from civilisation. But there are still a small group of people who work at the stables and live nearby.

  


The social groups in the area consist of rich old people who want isolation, stable workers and a young historian. In the community, the stable workers mingle pleasantly with the others - being the focal point of the population. The stables is a small, but important wooden building where helpers tend to the animals. Though, not all of the stable’s animals are horses. All they do is give the animals basic care, like feeding them food, pay attention to the animal’s hygiene and provide them with attention. There’s also a training ground where one worker and his horse practice their unison for any potential danger.

 

Some of the workers own an animal that they have a responsibility to - along with the rest of the animals. In the small barn that shelters the horses, an employee in the cool afternoon finishes shovelling hay into an empty containment. He sighs after some good hard work, mentally giving himself a pat on the back as his work shift is almost over. The employee is a man known as Seungcheol, one of the three employees who usually manages the afternoon shifts before another helper comes by. His black hair has sprinkles of hay in it and his uniform is cloaked in mud and hay, but his appearance doesn’t bother him. Seungcheol can just take a cold bath later.

 

After he checks that every animal is content, he sets his shovel aside and pats the hay off his grey work overalls before walking towards a particular horse. This horse was a tad bigger than the other horses, with a luxurious black coat and a lavish white mane. The horse’s dark sea-green eyes watch as Seungcheol approaches, swivelling around to face the human.

 

“Hey there Bumzu,” Seungcheol greets the animal with his signature gummy smile. He reaches out to pet the horse’s long face before caressing the horse’s neck. “How are you?”

 

The horse, Bumzu, only whinnies in response. His tail sways in response to affection. Bumzu is a 10-year-old Black Forest horse and has been Seungcheol’s personal horse ever since he was a foal. Of course, Seungcheol doesn’t expect Bumzu to suddenly speak the human language. But the man feels like he connects with his horse when he speaks to him - even if Bumzu never understands. He and Bumzu share a strong bond with each other, almost as if the pair share the same mind.

 

“Hey.” a voice behind Seungcheol said.

 

He turns around to see another man with brown hair and circle-rimmed glasses in the same uniform as him. “Hey, Jeonghan.”

 

"You are done with everything?" the man, Jeonghan, asks as he kneels down to fix his boots - a necessity in the uniform as the job gets very… _messy._

 

“I think there’s not much to do with the horses for now," Seungcheol informs as he continues petting Bumzu’s long face. Bumzu’s whitetail waves in content. "and Ryu is still sleeping.”

 

“Oh. Ryu.” Jeonghan sweats nervously, gulping back the lump in his throat. Seungcheol only chuckles mischievously as he keeps being affectionate to his horse. “Jeez, why does Joshua own such a scary bird…”

 

Ryu is a giant nocturnal bird who belongs to Joshua, the last team member who only comes in for late night shifts. She stands at least 2ft taller than her owner and is big enough to let Joshua ride on her back. With a terrifyingly large beak, an impressive wingspan, long legs and a piercing gaze, she really is a menacing bird. Not to mention she’s also a carnivorous breed, which amplifies the fear factor.

 

Jeonghan is usually the one who gives her food when she wakes up, which is normally a large slab of boar meat that she tears shreds into with her sharp beak. She would then look at Jeonghan after her meal and screech at him with her beak covered in boar blood as if saying to him “clean my mess not-Joshua. Or else you’re next”. No wonder Seungcheol and Jeonghan fear for their lives around Ryu. Yet she loves Joshua just as much as Bumzu loves Seungcheol, and she’s fiercely protective over her owner.

 

"I only do the morning shifts, man." Seungcheol smiles with no empathy for his friend as he reaches for the horse reins next to Bumzu’s station. "You're on your own."

 

"Screw you then! I don't need help." Jeonghan yells with a smile in his face.

 

Seungcheol chuckles at himself and his friend’s antics as he gets the headpiece and noseband on Bumzu’s face. He lets Bumzu bite the bit of the bridle before carrying the numnah hanging off the doorway of Bumzu’s place. Carefully, he sets the final piece - the seat - on top of the numnah compiling the rest of Bumzu’s sturdy saddle. Hoisting himself up by gripping onto the saddle, he lifts himself to sit comfortably with a ‘pomf’. He grasps the reins and kicks both of his legs on the saddle’s stirrups, signalling Bumzu to go forward.

 

“You off to see your crush again?” Jeonghan asks while he’s polishing a horseshoe.

 

Seungcheol’s face goes bright red. He pulls on the reins to tell Bumzu to stop. “He’s-!” the man hesitates to retaliate against the statement, before giving up. “... Yes. I am.” _I mean it’s true and both Jeonghan and Joshua know it, why deny it?_

 

“Tell Jihoon that he still needs to consider a night out with us, alright?”

 

“You just want to set up a double date with you and Joshua.”

 

“Hey.” Jeonghan clicks his fingers and points accusingly at the horse rider. “I will woo him one day.”

 

Seungcheol rolls his eyes. "Yeah, sure you will." he kicks his legs on the stirrups again and Bumzu starts trotting away. "Well, see ya."

 

"Bye-bye." Jeonghan wiggles his fingers before going back to work polishing more horseshoes. Jeonghan sighs in exemption. He’s excited to see Joshua later tonight again.

 

If Seungcheol could point where his crush’s house is, he would tell you that he could “see it from work”. Because Jihoon is literally the first house next to the stables, he’s not that far. He doesn’t know how this infatuation for Jihoon came to be. It was only one day when a small blonde man who went by the name of Lee Jihoon popped by to the stables to ask someone to deliver letters for him. He was clad in very dirty brown attire paired with shorts, a backpack which seemed larger than his small figure, and large glasses which gave him that stereotypical historian look.

 

Seungcheol’s shift was about to end, and being a person who’s too nice to say no, he accepted the small errand for Jihoon. The post office is in the main town past the stables, which is a ten-minute canter on a horse, giving it probably a twenty or thirty-minute walk. Jihoon didn’t pay him or anything to deliver the letter, Seungcheol did it because he felt like he was helping the seemingly stressful man. Sort of like a side quest.

 

Of course, this one side quest quickly spirals out of control. After the first time, Jihoon came along a second time to ask for another favour from Seungcheol, and the stable worker was obliged to do it. Now Seungcheol delivers Jihoon’s letters about twice a week. Oh, he also ‘admires’ how hard Jihoon does his job (he refuses to call it a crush despite the heat he feels whenever he talks to Jihoon). Don’t listen to Jeonghan.

 

Bumzu trots along the dirt path with his master on his back. The distance from the stables to the small civilisation around the area isn’t very far - rather it was a pond skip away. Not a lot of various plant life was in this area except for an abundance of trees that circle the perimeter. Outside this small residence was just the main town north from here and the plain, grassy country everywhere else.

 

They both halt outside Jihoon’s small but comfortable house - a location well known for both of them. Bumzu’s sheer size makes his master appear threateningly big, and Seungcheol’s head almost reaches the roof of the cosy home. He peers through the window to see Jihoon writing with a quill, and sheets of paper scattered all over the table and the floor. _Alright, you can do this Seungcheol. You can talk to him._

 

Seungcheol knocks on the window loudly. "Hey Jihoon, you in there?"

 

The sudden knock surprises Jihoon out of his work zone, almost knocking his ink jar over his precious work. Seungcheol couldn’t hear the muffled words through the closed window, but he bet that Jihoon shouted some profanities in that room. Waiting patiently for Jihoon to get organised, the smaller man finally approaches the window and slides it open.

 

"You know you can just knock on the door like a normal person, right?"

 

"Nah, it's faster this way." Seungcheol beams. "Any letters today then, Jihoon?"

 

"Oh, just this one." Jihoon saunters back to his workspace, then back to Seungcheol and hands him a letter with the royal wax seal on it. All of Jihoon’s letters have the red royal seal on it - Seungcheol always guesses that Jihoon works as a historian for the royal family. “I really do appreciate you delivering my letters for me. Walking to the main town with a bag full of artefacts is tiring.”

 

“Eh, it's quite alright. Bumzu needs to do his exercise anyways.” the horse rider pats his horse’s soft mane, and Bumzu’s ears twitch in reaction. He stashes the letter in one of his big pockets and does the button up. It's not the most secure method, but it’ll have to do since Seungcheol doesn’t normally bring a bag to work. "Where did you get your study materials this time?"

 

"I was in the town library gathering sources and references from the oldest books I could find. I didn't get that much info this time, but I'm close to having an answer if I take trips to the ruins nearby."

 

From what Seungcheol knows, Jihoon’s work as a historian considers studying the old inscriptions of the ruins and mountain nearby. One peek at Jihoon’s messy room filled with writing, symbols and drawings, and one can tell that he studies Epigraphy - a field of study where he identifies inscriptions and clarifies their meaning. The engravings are written in the old language once spoken by dragon deities and the young historian works day by day to recover the monuments and translate the text. Jihoon has been here for more than a month now and Seungcheol has never seen someone so absorbed in his own work.

 

"You sure are passionate about this, Jihoon..."

 

"History just fascinates me, really." Jihoon leans against the window wistfully.

 

Seungcheol was just about to say his goodbye before a thought emerges in his mind. "Oh yeah, do you need a ride to the ruins? Bumzu and I can take you there." Seungcheol pats Bumzu's graceful neck, to which the horse nickers at.

 

"Ah, I think you'll be at the stables when I leave for the ruins." Jihoon taps his chin in thought. "I'll drop by to say hello though, is that ok?"

 

"Yeah, sure!" If Seungcheol had a dog’s tail right now, it would be wagging like crazy. "I can join you and then give you a ride back if you want."

 

"That'd be great Seungcheol. It'd save me the journey."

 

"Then it's settled. I'll go deliver this now, see you tomorrow Jihoon!"

 

"Yeah, see ya." the pair say their goodbyes as Bumzu trots along and Jihoon slides his window shut, eager to get back to his work.

 

It was only when Seungcheol was a few feet away from Jihoon’s house, he realises. _T-This is the first time I’m spending time with Jihoon outside of letter delivering…!_ His face burst into red heat and he let go of one rein to hold his right cheek. Yup. He’s blushing like mad and he can’t stop it. _Damn it. Maybe I do like him..._

 

\------------

 

After Bumzu canters down the road towards the main town, the atmosphere completely changes. Dirt meets cobblestone, and the pair enter the main trading town - Vento Aureo. A town where trading flourishes and people buzz around busily. It's a town that never sleeps, in the day merchants compete with each other for sales, and at night the bars fill up with friendly men until morning. Their stocks were full of a range of merchandise; ranging from colourful items to court someone, to useful objects for everyday life. 

 

The continent that Seungcheol walks on is [known as Aur](https://i.imgur.com/XQQWL6r.jpg) and houses five countries within its rule. Aur has been named after the almighty deity ‘Auren’ that the people worship. There were old stories that depicted Auren had created this continent from a rock from the seabed - before their powers brought life and became the continent to this day.

 

Seungcheol’s hometown, Vento Aureo, is the biggest town situated in the [country of Luft](https://i.imgur.com/CxDNzIk.png). Luft is one of the five countries in Aur and is famous for its breeze and prosperity. Vento Aureo is small compared to its neighbouring cities. It’s large grassy plains and free wind attracts anyone from anywhere if they want a fresh start in life. 

 

The next country over is well renowned for its wealth, riches and success. This country, [known as Arian](https://i.imgur.com/a6F5Mtq.png), serves as the main capital for Aur. Not only that, but the royal family live in Arian Castle, and have a long heritage of kings and queens. The King and Queen of Arian rule over their citizens in Aur with pride. There isn’t much news about their only son, the Prince of Arian, who decided to leave the castle one day in pursuit of his dreams. Or, that’s what Seungcheol hears about him nowadays. There’s a lot of rumours that the young prince is living undercover somewhere and there are other rumours where he may be dead. But Seungcheol bets that the prince is just a lazy guy who holes himself in his room all the time.

 

With many countries, comes a country that specialises in construction. [Feuer](https://i.imgur.com/MwLCXjl.png), a country for mining and construction, is responsible for the house and town design for all the other countries in Aur.  A lot of the previous workers eventually established a mining town next to the mountain so they wouldn’t have to keep travelling from country to country for work. Feu Froid that exact mining town that transports building materials and valuable jewels excavated from the side of the mountain.

 

Before going from Feuer to Cecair, a dense forest named [Hiljainen Metsä](https://i.imgur.com/5hySPfE.png) blocks the way. Hiljainen Metsä is where nature blankets the entire country and hides away a once magnificent city, which is all but destroyed and decaying. Nature has set to rebuild this landmass, and thus a shroud of mystery envelopes this forest. There is a passing rumour that a lone ghost haunts the forest who eats unfortunate souls. They ride the back of a mythical creature known as [a Trico](https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/t__/images/8/8b/Trico_eyes_gif.gif/revision/latest?cb=20181030155507&path-prefix=teamico), a gryphon-like beast that is only described in inscriptions dating back to when dragons roamed the land. Now there’s a certain path that merchants and passersby use to get from Feu Froid to Tubig, and straying off the path meant certain death.

 

The country with the largest population out of all of Aur is [none other than Cecair](https://i.imgur.com/OyJCgno.png). It’s main city, Tubig, is a city that continues to evolve and expand the more people migrate. The city revolved around a lake where an eroded statue of a dragon stood in the middle as if it was the city’s guardian. Tubig was also known as “the new city”, where the people develop the latest technology that could shake Aur. Seungcheol heard about one fanatic from Tubig who claimed that they created a fabric that could absorb electricity called ‘rubber’, to which he rolled his eyes. He had no time for tomfoolery, any hyped up rumours from Tubig end up being fake anyways.

 

“You sir!” a merchant beckons to the daydreaming Seungcheol, who returns back to reality. “Buy my corn! We have lots of corn available for everyone, and at a cheap price at that!”

 

Okay, Seungcheol couldn’t resist a good deal. Out of impulse, he bought seven corn cobs for the price of two before he went on his way again.

 

“Have a good day!” the corn merchant thanks, before returning to their job. “Corn! Get your cheap, delicious corn!”

 

Passing by other merchants which didn’t pique Seungcheol’ interests, the horse rider finally reaches his destination. There… was no post office in the town centre so to speak. Rather, it was a man stationed next to a wall mounted post box. The man wore a skin-tight sleeves shirt and shorts, and sported a large curved flag on his back which spelt “Postman”. Topped off with the traditional red postman hat, this was indeed the post ‘office’.

 

The postman spots the familiar rider and his hefty black horse approach. “Ah, why hello! Here to deliver the royal man’s letter as per usual?”

 

“You betcha.” Seungcheol hands the postman Jihoon’s letter.

 

“Great! I’ve been itching to run to Arian and back for a while. These marathons really build up your thighs and calves.” he does some leg stretches to prepare his body for a long run. “Well, farewell! I look forward to more letters!” with that the postman was already gone, zooming off into the direction of Arian.

 

Seungcheol always thought that the postman was rather odd for just running to Arian rather than just owning a horse. Sure the man gets a lot of exercise but as Seungcheol likes to agree that he is physically healthy, even he wouldn’t want to run such a distance. Especially in those sandals. Nonetheless, another errand was done for today. Seungcheol strokes his horse’s mane in long, gentle movements. “Let’s go home, Bumzu.” the horse’s ears flick happily in response.

 

\-----------------

 

The morning was chilly with a soft spring breeze. Despite being in a warm bed, Seungcheol needed to get up to take his shift at the stable. Grunting in a tone that only speaks “I really don’t want to work but I have adult responsibilities to attend to”, he rolls out of bed and prepares himself for work. He donned his usual uniform; boots, pants, a white long sleeved shirt and a brown cuffed jacket which he can button up. Seungcheol’s just a stone’s throw away from the stable so, there wasn’t a need to rush. Besides, being his own boss and working with his friends has its perks.

 

A five-minute walk is all Seungcheol needs to arrive at his workplace. When he was there all the animals were still sleeping, no horse or bird noises resonated. Joshua already completed his work during the night before and the entire stable was flawlessly clean. The animal waste was all in the fertiliser basin, the stable was clear of all muck and grime, and everything else that Seungcheol and Jeonghan didn’t do Joshua did anyways. None of them wanted to clean out the animal waste buckets… Just how did he do it all in one night?

 

After roughly an hour of refilling horse feed to all the horse feeders, Seungcheol hears a familiar voice at the stable entrance. “H-Hello?” the person greets nervously.

 

“Ah, Jihoon!” Seungcheol calls out from the stable. He jogs up to Jihoon, his uniform already covered in hay and horse feed. Jihoon wore the _cutest_ outfit Seungcheol had seen him in. Suspenders held up brown shorts that hugged his clean white shirt, which finished off with a cute red bow tie and a beige beret on his head. He was carrying a large, bulging bag on his back which looked like he was carrying rocks inside it. Nonetheless. _He. Looked. Adorable._ “You leaving for the ruins soon?”

 

“Yeah, I did say I was gonna say hi before I leave,” Jihoon mentions, avoiding meeting with Seungcheol’s bright eyes. “How long does your shift last?”

 

“Technically I can leave anytime, but I’ve got responsibilities sorry. I’ll be about five more hours, will you still be there when I finish?”

 

“Oh yes, for sure. I’ll probably be busy researching because there’s a lot of inscriptions in the ruins.” There was a small period of silence between the two. “Right uh, best be going. See you later Seungcheol!”

 

The worker was about to say a quick “bye” but Jihoon had already swivelled around and bolted off, the contents in Jihoon’s bag jingling with every step he took. Seungcheol wondered if it was something he said or did, but shrugged it off since Jihoon is a mysterious man. With a soft smile plastered on his face at the thought of seeing Jihoon, he goes back inside to resume work.

 

As five hours pass by, Seungcheol got most of his work done for the day. His routa was about to switch with Jeonghan’s and boy, he couldn’t wait to get out of the place.

 

“Hey gorgeous,” he mutters to Bumzu, and the horse nickers lowly in response. Grabbing the horse reins, he sets up Bumzu’s saddle and bridle before hopping on. A tap from both legs with the saddle’s stirrups got Bumzu to walk at a slow pace. The pair walked out of the confined stable, and Seungcheol shifted Bumzu’s gait to make him trot. Once on the dirt path, trotting became cantering as Bumzu raced across the dirt path.

 

Seungcheol’s vision was like a tunnel, and the light at the end of the tunnel was Jihoon. He didn’t even notice Jeonghan waving at him. One could tell that Seungcheol was a bit _too_ eager to meet up with Jihoon.

 

“Hi-” Seungcheol dashes past him on Bumzu, leaving Jeonghan puzzled. “Uh, bye?”

 

In a few minutes, Seungcheol was already out of the small isolated community and into the vast plains of Luft. Lush green grass expanded over the land, and the abundance of trees at the distance make up the countryside view. White wildflowers were dotted around the plains, enticing the lovely view that only Luft had out of the other countries. Paired with the clear sky and the sun beaming down upon the land, Luft had the perfect countryside feeling.

 

Bumzu cantered along the path of desire, heading toward the small abandoned area just at the distance. It was, as Seungcheol called it, ‘the ruins’. Black, crumbled down buildings litter the area, eroding from a natural occurrence. The weathered buildings looked like it could dissipate with just a touch, contrasting with the current tough houses built in Luft. Bumzu trots along the remaining path of the ruined area, and Seungcheol keeps an eye out for Jihoon.

 

The ruins weren’t a very big place, but it was very hard to find a small person excavating the area. After a good while of Bumzu walking around in circles, Seungcheol finds Jihoon sat on some decaying steps, writing in one of his many notebooks, the bag set aside him. The tree next to the deteriorating ruin gave Jihoon perfect shelter from the afternoon sun, and it looked like he hasn’t moved for a while. Seungcheol pulled on Bumzu’s reins, telling the horse to stop and hopped off of the large animal.

 

“Hey, sorry about the wait.” Seungcheol greets with his best smile. Jihoon stopped writing and looks up to the shining presence that is Seungcheol.

 

“Ah,” he greeted back bashfully. “It's no bother. You didn’t have to rush.”

 

“I didn’t want to keep you waiting. So, what did you find out in the ruins?”

 

“Well, I found out that these buildings are approximately a few hundred years old, which is pretty new in comparison to other ruins. It’s odd because most of the ruins I excavate date back at least a thousand years ago, so these are pretty recent. The piece I’m focusing on is the luminostone mural inscribed on the ground right here.” Jihoon pointed to the ruined ground in front of him, which Seungcheol happened to be standing on. He gave a sly smile and stepped off of it. “I have no idea what it’s portraying, but this is the first time I saw this.”

 

“Oh! This looks like an Ewersu mural.”

 

The architect’s eyes lit up in wonder. “Is that what it is? How do you know? What more do you know about it? Can you explain to me in detail what it is?” He bombards the stable worker with many questions, almost overloading Seungcheol’s system.

 

“Whoa whoa, calm down Jihoon! One question at a time. My grandmother used to tell me stories about a monster called Ewersu who would eat you up if you didn’t wash your hands before eating. It was a way to scare kids into doing things, but when I grew up I realised that Ewersu was only a myth.”

 

“This is the first I’m hearing about Ewersu. Why wasn’t it in the mythical legends books that I studied?”

 

“It's more of a kids legend than a proclaimed myth. Not a lot of adults take Ewersu seriously, regardless that it used to exist.”

 

“I see…”

 

“Ewersu used to be part of the royal family as a consort for the prince before dark magic consumed him and turned him into a beast of legend. I can’t remember the details, but he used his power for evil and uhh, overtook the kingdom.”

 

Jihoon was furiously writing notes in his journal, his eyes skimmed past each word he wrote. Seungcheol wasn’t even sure if his recollection was correct, there were children’s books in the library which explained the story better than him. _Maybe it’ll be another excuse for one more date_.

 

“The kingdom’s best wizards did their best to fight him, but they never beat him. Instead, they caged him in light magic and built a mountain over him. That’s how parents scare the kids to go to bed early - if they stay up too late then Ewersu will wake up and eat you.”

 

He was still writing notes of the legend at lightning speed.

 

“Also, did you know that my ancestors were guards for the royal family?”

 

This piqued Jihoon’s interest. He glanced up from his book. “Oh huh.” he didn’t mean to sound so uninterested, he just wanted to write as much as he could while the information was still in his brain. Seungcheol’s smile faltered, but he understood that Jihoon was only doing his job.

 

Jihoon continued to write in his journal, and Seungcheol was happy to just sit next to him for a bit. They sat like that for a good few minutes, Jihoon committed to writing as much detail of the ruins as he can. Seungcheol, grown bored of doing nothing, groomed Bumzu’s mane with a brush. The large horse whinnied happily, bumping into Seungcheol’s hand asking to be pet.

 

Finally, after several minutes of hardcore writing, Jihoon looked up from his book. Bumzu and Seungcheol were being their merry old selves. Seungcheol drowned Bumzu in attention, petting his long face affectionately and occasionally kissing him on the nose. The horse merely accepted the affection, putting his full trust onto his master. His long white horse tail swished happily. Jihoon smiled to himself. Ever since Seungcheol offered to deliver his mail for him, he started to like his presence. Not only is the stable worker incredibly hot, but he’s also paired with a great personality that Jihoon would sacrifice his life for. Of course, once Jihoon made friends with someone, of course, he would sacrifice anything for them. He wouldn’t actually sacrifice his life though, it was just a figure of speech.

 

The sun started to set, and the sky was set ablaze with an orange hue. The remaining light cast large shadows on the ruined buildings, covering the small group in a large shadow. Jihoon visibly shivered, the cold atmosphere hitting his body in frigid waves. Seungcheol noticed this change and hopped over to him.

 

He took his jacket off and wrapped it around Jihoon’s small figure. “Here,” he said with a smile.

 

“No please - you need it more than I do. You’re just wearing a thin shirt.”

 

Seungcheol only scoffed. “Jihoon you’re decked out in shorts right now, don’t tell me I’m gonna be the one cold.”

 

Jihoon was about to retaliate, but he shut his mouth. He snuggled into Seungcheol’s large jacket, intent to keep in warmth in the chilly dusk air.

 

“Hey um, listen,” Jihoon muttered, melting into Seungcheol’s large jacket. “I’m not the most sociable person around, and I’m not trying to be mean here I’m just genuinely curious, why are you still with me…?”

 

Seungcheol only gave him a warm smile. “I’d just like to get to know you more. You don’t have to force yourself to talk, ok?”

 

Jihoon says nothing after that, not knowing what to say. “Thank you”, “I do like you a lot?”, “You’re the only person I talk to on a daily basis in Vento Aureo”? He didn't know, so he kept quiet. A blush crept up his face, not knowing if its from embarrassment or from being too cold. Filled with a giddy feeling that he couldn’t pinpoint, Seungcheol hopped over next to Jihoon and sat next to him. A fluffy feeling settled in his stomach. He understood if Jihoon couldn’t find the proper words to say in a situation, he was ok with that.

 

“Wait, why are we just sitting here? It's cold, we should head back.”

 

“I heard that this mural on the ground glows at night since it was drawn with luminostone.” Jihoon insisted. Luminostone is a type of rock that only glows at night, and it's commonly used as paint or decoration. “It could give me more insight to how old this mural is.”

 

Seungcheol hummed. It wasn’t long until the sun was below the horizon and everything was covered in a blanket of darkness. Dusk came along and the surrounding temperature dropped significantly.

 

Even Seungcheol started to become cold, his breath like a dragon’s with every exhale. Suddenly, he felt a light weight on his shoulder. He turned his head in surprise to see Jihoon, leaning against him as an attempt to keep warm. It was Seungcheol’s turn to flush a hue of red. He tried his best not to let out a dorky smile during the bonding session with his crush, doing that would only end up in questions.

 

“It's so cold,” he says through his chattering teeth. Both of them were under packed for the weather conditions. “I can’t write notes like this. But it shouldn’t be long until the mural lights up.”

 

_Oh but I don’t want this moment to end. When will I get another chance like this…?_

 

As dusk transformed into night, everything was painted in a dark blue tone. Night ambience came to life with a symphony of crickets. A gentle wind blew in between the pair and rustled the leaves of the tree above them. Jihoon huddled closer into Seungcheol, and the other felt the pit of his stomach grow much fuzzier.

 

They both sat in comfortable silence for a while.

 

Jihoon’s eyes begged for sleep, almost nodding off on Seungcheol’s shoulder. Until a faint green light grew and attracted his fading vision. He stood up in vigour. “The mural…!”

 

Seungcheol, who already nodded off a while ago, jolted awake with Jihoon’s exclamation. “The mule…?”

 

His question was answered as the mural, proven right by what Jihoon heard, was indeed glowing a soft green light. It stood out in the dark plain, acting as a beacon to anyone nearby, but not being strong enough to be seen from the stables. The mural, lit up to show more attention to detail, depicted new information neither of them knew.

 

Central to the mural was a large smokey figure encircling a mountain. The figure had a beast’s head, a long snout with jagged teeth, while the rest of its body seemed to be shrouded in smoke. Four other creatures lay around the beast and the mountain, seemingly worshipping the beast. What seemed to be a stone statue, a jellyfish, a jaguar and an abnormally large snake crowded around the smoky beast. Finally below the figures, almost going unnoticed, were two human-like figures. The two small figures were nothing of sort - one wielded a bow and the other a sword.

 

“Is that… Ewersu?” Seungcheol asked.

 

“Maybe… I shouldn’t make assumptions, but it may be a depiction if Ewersu. He’s been described a lot as a midnight haze, a murky fog, anything related to dark clouds. But what got me intrigued are these three figures underneath him…” Jihoon’s eyes burnt with curiousity. He didn’t feel this motivated about a new discovery in a while…!

 

“Who… are they… _What_ are they…? I need to write this down.” Jihoon fumbles for one of his many filled notebooks in his bag and starts writing down notes with shivering hands. The cold night air isn’t enough to stop the historian from having his fill in curiousity.

 

Several minutes pass and Jihoon was still writing in his notebook energetically, glancing at the mural sometimes while simultaneously writing. Seungcheol was starting to get worried about the night monsters coming out to ambush them. He wasn’t sure if it was anxiety speaking, but every so often he could hear an odd shimmer in the distance trees, where enemies can potentially make themselves known. Seungcheol has nothing to defend against him and Jihoon, so he sadly had to break Jihoon out of his work trance.

 

“Jihoon.” he put his hand on Jihoon’s shoulder. “It's getting late. Perhaps we should get going before the monsters come out.”

 

The light in Jihoon’s eyes dimmed down. Seungcheol felt like something stabbed at his heart, he wants to support Jihoon’s work as much as possible, but he wants to go back to town alive rather than in a coffin. “I forgot about those… You’re right, I’ll just have to study this mural another time.”

 

Seungcheol smiles softly and gets up, Jihoon following in suit. He calls Bumzu over, who was only grazing one some grass not far from them, with a soft whistle. Bumzu’s ears pick up the sound and he trots over to them happily. With one swoop, Seungcheol jumps onto Bumzu’s back effortlessly. He reaches a hand towards Jihoon so he could get in too, who gleefully accepted.

 

On horseback with Jihoon grabbing his sides for leverage, Seungcheol felt like he was living a dream. One of his many dreams with Jihoon, in fact. He never thought he would go on a ‘date’ with Jihoon and have him behind him so quickly (no dirty jokes there). Seungcheol gave his stirrups a kick and Bumzu went on his way. The horse followed the dirt path that his master directed him to with each pull of the reigns.

 

The way back was barely lit - there was almost no source of light save from Jihoon’s lantern and the weak stars still in the barren night sky. A blue fog illuminated far away areas - tree leaves reflected the moonlight back into open space. The dark ground seemed like it would swallow the group like a delicious meal, but Seungcheol put his faith into Bumzu, knowing he would guide them to the right path. Past a clearing, Bumzu walked through a firefly swarm. The swarm gave the dark atmosphere a warm glow with their natural lights. They danced around Jihoon and Seungcheol, illuminating their faces with an affectionate glow.

 

“Beautiful…” a breath came out from Jihoon.

 

“You are.” a whisper escapes from Seungcheol’s lips unconsciously. Seungcheol was so busy looking out for the path ahead, that he didn’t catch Jihoon’s soft blush behind him.

 

\------

 

The pair got back into the stables just a bit past midnight, according to the moon’s position in the sky.

 

“I wouldn’t mind if you…” Jihoon hesitated a little, out of anxiousness. “... joined me again for another excavation.”

 

“Just say the word and we’ll come trotting along. Good night, Jihoon.”

 

“Good night.” it was the last exchange they shared before they went their separate ways.

 

As soon as he got in, Jihoon dumbed his bag into a clear corner, put his lantern on a flat surface and started piling the scattered papers into one barely made pile. Once Jihoon cleared his desk space, he grabbed a blank parchment, a full ink bottle and a feather. He started writing a letter.

 

_To the Royal King and Queen of Aur,_

 

_Tonight I have made an exciting discovery. Me and a friend discovered a mural made of luminostone containing unearthed knowledge about Ewersu and its disciples. Surely, this will uncover more information about my ancient ancestor and how he became the Sage of Light. This mural could have some connection between me being the next predecessor for the Sage of Light, and how to obtain that role. I didn’t have enough time to piece together information, but I will write to you again when I have it. Please await my return to the royal castle._

 

_Your son,_

_Jihoon Aur Lee_

**Author's Note:**

> this fic was heavily inspired by Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
> 
> [i also have a lil playlist here that helped me set the mood for this fic](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL4WjoM5CfyynoKhST1WlVi3_QPRk19XZi)


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